Maddy wins it for Rolla in sudden death penalty kicks

Who’s in your Fave Five?

On Thursday night, sophomore Katelyn Maddy made her case for a permanent spot in Mike Howard’s.

For the first time since they changed the rules of overtime, the Rolla High School girls soccer team had a game decided by penalty kicks. And, the Lady Bulldogs were up to the challenge, as RHS bested Camdenton 1-0 on extra penalty kicks on a goal by Maddy.

“I just knew I needed it to make it. I was just trying to keep my cool,” Maddy said. “I knew if I made it we would win, and that’s what happened.”

In this case, Maddy was actually Rolla’s Super Sixth. That is, each team made netted two goals in the first set of five penalty kicks, sending it into sudden death penalty kicks where you pick five new players, but the game ends immediately when one team makes and the other misses.

Camdenton was denied by Rolla goalie Adrian Pogue on its first extra penalty kick, setting the stage for Maddy’s heroics.

“Katelyn stepped up and buried it,” said Howard, Rolla’s head coach. “It was a good penalty kick. She really handled the situation well.”

The contest was actually an ugly, physical affair that turned into one of the most exciting games in quite some time because of the extra sessions and the tensions building between the two squads. Both teams took issue with how the other was playing, and at one point, both coaches earned yellow cards.

In the end, it came down to penalty kicks, and Camdenton shot first. Both keepers performed well, and goals were hard-earned.

“I was ready,” said Pogue, a sophomore. “Coach Howard told me to keep calm and it helped me a lot.”

Megan Manzer shot first for Camdenton, missing high to the right side of the net. Rolla sophomore Jaclyn Standfast immediately put Rolla in the lead, booming a shot to the upper right-hand corner of the net. Laker goalie Krista Murphy never had a chance.

Stephanie Kirvan was up next and she tied it up, sneaking it in along the ground just inside the left post. Again, Rolla followed up by making a shot aimed at the exact same location, as junior Ashley Kerr drilled a ball to the lower left-hand corner of the net. The Lady Bulldogs led 2-1, but Blaire Baker answered for Camdenton, going high and right for a goal.

After that, Rolla’s Emily Spooner missed high, Camdenton’s Latea LaRue missed wide right and high, Rolla’s Ellen Spooner hit a great shot that drilled the left post, but managed to stay out, and Camdenton’s Morgan Folks missed high.

This gave sophomore Olivia Cox, Rolla’s leading scorer last season, a chance to end it. Rolla had to be loving the situation. Cox nailed a shot low and left, and it was perfectly placed just inside the post. However, Murphy made a great save, blocking it away to send the two teams back for extra penalty kicks.

“I thought Adrian handled it fine. Most of the time when you make them make it and don’t guess, you are better off. And, she did that,” Howard said. “And, I thought all of our shooters did well. The one’s we missed we struck well. Olivia’s was just a good save by their keeper and Ellen’s hit the post.”

Despite the building pressure, Pogue was able to handle her nerves throughout the entire extra session. She said it was a must.

“I have to keep calm. When I get nervous, I have my worst games,” Pogue said.

This contest has to go down as one of her top games ever. She never did allow a goal during the 80 minutes of regulation or in either of the two 10-minute overtime sessions. And, she saved her best for last.

Camdenton’s Maria Civitate was up first in extra penalty kicks, and she tried to go low and left, but Pogue was there in a flash to make the save.

“I was thinking, ‘Don’t guess, wait for them to commit and then react.’ Coach Howard is always telling me that,” Pogue said. “The girl just didn’t get enough oomph on it and I was able to get in front of it.” 

Now, the game was in Maddy’s hands. It was her first penalty kick ever in high school, and she admitted to being a little nervous.

“Oh yeah, but I knew we had to have it. Everybody just kept telling me to keep my cool, and I was able to do that.”

Maddy blasted a hard liner to the low left-hand corner. Murphy made a good play on the ball, and in fact, she got her hands on it. But, the shot was too hard and too well-positioned. It deflected off Murphy’s hands and into the back of the net. 

The entire team raced out to congratulate her.

“I knew I wanted to go left because I kick with my right foot,” Maddy said. “I would rather of not gone to overtime and penalty kicks. But, it happened, so we were all just doing our best.”

Both teams had their chances in regulation, but there really weren’t that many scary moments. Rolla seemed to be able to exert more pressure, but Camdenton did a good job of packing their zone when the Lady Bulldogs got it in deep. Both teams finished the contest with six shots on goals.

The overtime periods were a little more exciting. In the first extra session, Rolla had Murphy way out in the corner of the field and scrambling to get back in goal, but the Camdenton defense was able to keep it out of the net. Both goalies had to make a good save and each team had a couple of free kicks deep in the other’s zone.

In the second overtime, Cox escaped for a moment and was able to get off a high, hard, long-range shot, but it was denied by Murphy. Kirvan answered with a hard shot on Pogue, but she too was up to the task.

It was Pogue’s sixth shutout of the season.

“When the game goes into penalty kicks, there is a lot of pressure. But, there is a lot of pressure on the shooters too. I just take it as a challenge. It helps with my hand-eye coordination,” Pogue said. “I would have liked not to go to a shootout, but that’s what happened. We were able to get the win, and that’s a good thing.”
Rolla improved to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in Ozark Conference play.

“I was proud of the way the girls played. As much as Camdenton tried to make it not a soccer game, I thought our girls represented our school well and just played soccer. They competed and played right. They played fair,” Howard said.

Rolla is set to begin play in the Capital City Invitational today with a game against Pattonville.